1. His eyes. It's like looking into the eyes of a puppy dog. A beautiful, strong, sensitive puppy dog that I want to bone.

2. He doesn't have a drinking problem. So he likes the occasional beer. At least he doesn't have a full glass of Scotch in hand every time he appears on screen, like Fitz, who's probably going to die of liver cirrhosis before he turns 60 and/or enable Olivia to consume all of the red wine in Washington, D.C.

3. He eats at Gettysburger all the time and yet still looks like this without a shirt on:

4. He's single. Obvious, but a character trait that Olivia Pope really needs to put a little more stock in. He could marry her right this second and it wouldn't cause a national scandal. How is that not a turn-on for her?

5. He's not a fucking baby. Some people, like Fitz, think it's OK to cheat on your wife for a million years, then deny her the pleasure of her own affair just because it makes you jealous, which in turn makes your mistress jealous because she rightfully doesn't understand why you still give a shit about who your wife is banging. Not Jake. Jake just quietly accepts that he has to share Olivia with Fitz, because he loves her so much that he'd rather let her do her thing than cause drama by meddling.

6. He actually wants to date Olivia, in real time. There's no "when we get our stupid house in Vermont" with Jake Ballard. No sir, Jake Ballard is all about doing it right now, on this kitchen counter, before we even crack open the red wine. He just wants to stand in the sun! And he doesn't even have to go to another state to do it.

7. He looks damn good in a uniform. Good LORD. Talk about a man who could make you question your misgivings about America's military-industry complex.

8. He can protect her from psychotic murderers. Not that Olivia always needs a man to protect her, but in her line of work, there are a lot of shady characters out to get her. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a man around who's good with guns and swift kicks to the face.

9. They can be seen in public together. Because, as mentioned above, he's single, but also because he's not the president. Picture it: Olivia Pope and Jake Ballard, on a normal date at the Applebee's. Do they want jalapeño poppers or mozzarella sticks? Literally no one cares, because they're just a regular old couple hanging out on a Friday night. Heavenly.

10. He wants her to stand in the sun. Fitz just wants to keep her in cold Vermont, where it snows all the time and she has to make jam. But think of all the stuff you can do in the sun: Go to the beach, drink coconut water from a real coconut, tan yourself on the deck of a boat. The possibilities are endless, and none of them involve the phrase "canning jars."